Before Combustion
by rmlohner
Summary: Combustion Man: known to fans as a silent force of nature, completely inscrutable without even a name to give us a hint about who he really was. This is his story.


AN: The name Johan is taken from the unbelievably awesome manga/anime series Monster, where it's the alias of the main antagonist whose real name remains a mystery. So it seemed fitting to use it as the real name of Combustion Man.

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Johan woke up before the dawn. It had taken all his willpower to get what little sleep he had managed, and he knew he was now too excited to ever get back to sleep, so he sat on his bed waiting for the sun to rise and begin the most important day of his life so far. He had heard the story countless times growing up to prepare him for this day, so it seemed fitting to think over it one more time as he waited.

When Fire Lord Sozin began his glorious campaign to bring the civilization of the Fire Nation to the rest of the world, among the soldiers who made up his army was Johan's grandfather Chang. While he started at the bottom, he quickly proved himself a powerful fire bender and gained the favor of all his commanding officers. Eventually he proved this wasn't his only strength, as several times his platoons found themselves in seemingly hopeless situations against unbeatable foes. Every time, Chang would win the day by formulating a strategy using each man's natural abilities and the natural terrain, and this military genius was recognized by Sozin himself as Chang became seen as the face of the entire Fire Nation army. By the time he retired, now General Chang was among the most famous and highly respected men in the country. Ever since he had taken a position at the Fire Nation Military Academy, passing on his experience to the next generation of Fire Nation soldiers.

In between campaigns, Chang found the time to get married and have a son, Jon. Though disappointed when the boy turned out to not be a bender, Chang still looked forward to the future as it was common knowledge that if a firebender did not sire a firebending son, the next generation removed would likely have the gift. Sure enough, when Johan was born the sages read his aura and announced that he did possess the gift. More than that, they announced that he had a chi unlike any they had seen before, with a sixth chakra that was immensely powerful. What this meant there was no way of knowing, but everyone was sure that the child would follow in his grandfather's footsteps. Chang was overjoyed at the news and announced on the spot that when the time came for him to begin training, he would do the teaching himself in free private lessons.

And today was Johan's thirteenth birthday, when firebenders who wanted to join the army were sent to the academy to begin their training into the best soldiers possible. For him, it meant the start of those private lessons. And after an agonizing wait the sun finally rose and gave him its strength. If he was excited before, now it was all he could do not to burn the house down in his anticipation. He heard his parents waking up, and after inhaling breakfast he rushed down to the palanquin that his grandfather had sent the day before. After one last look at his father and mother beaming with pride, he turned to see down the road, waiting for the academy to appear on the horizon.

The flags were the first thing to appear, followed quickly by the pagodas they were attached to. As he exited the palanquin he saw his grandfather waiting for him, those familiar golden eyes looking just as happy as he was that this day had come at last. The bearers bowed and moved off, and Chang offered his hand, smiling. Johan took it and was led through the building into a courtyard filled with exercise equipment. His grandfather turned around, and Johan was surprised to see that his eyes, always twinkling and merry as long as Johan had known him, had now turned dark and hard. Chang spoke with a calm but forceful voice: "The first thing I must make clear is that in this place I am not the man who bounced you on his knee when you were younger, and showered you with gifts at every visit. Here I am nothing more or less than the man whose job it is to teach you firebending, and everything else about being a soldier. For my part, I will try to expect no more or less of you than I would any other student." Chang allowed himself a tiny smile as he went on, "It's just your bad luck that you will have my undivided attention. Do you understand?" Johan couldn't do anything for a moment, still in shock at the transformation, but then realized that his grandfather probably was this way all the time in his lessons, and there was no reason for his own to be any different. He nodded and said "I do," trying to sound as confident as he could. Chang returned the nod, saying, "I'm pleased. Are you ready to begin?"


End file.
